Political groups tied to the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries are raising tens of millions of dollars in a bid to become major players in this year’s midterm elections, according to new campaign finance reports.
A new report filed with the Federal Election Commission reveals that the most prominent cryptocurrency advocacy groups spent nearly $194 million at the end of 2025, almost all of which went to FairShake, an organization backed by Coinbase and other venture capitalists. Leading the Future, an AI advocacy group, ended the year with $39 million in campaign contributions.
The large war chests suggest these groups could wield significant influence in the 2026 primary and general elections to field their preferred candidates from both parties in an effort to influence Washington policy.
Cryptocurrency advocates established themselves as a force in the last election. Fair Shake and two allied groups, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, spent a combined whopping $290 million in 2024, according to campaign finance records.
Most notably, these groups spent millions to help Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, oppose Democratic Rep. Katie Porter’s candidacy for the California Senate, and support the successful U.S. Senate campaigns of Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego and Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin.
Leading the Future is a new group trying to influence this year’s elections. It raised more than $50 million between August 15 and December 31, and received $12.5 million each from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Benjamin Horowitz.
The new super PAC has some White House officials frustrated because its donors include some of President Donald Trump’s allies and the group is willing to support candidates of both parties.
So far, Leading the Future and its affiliates have announced plans to spend money on open House seats in two primaries. The group is opposing state Rep. Alex Boas, who sponsored an AI safety bill in his New York City district to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler. And he’s pushing attorney Chris Gover to fill a deep red Texas House seat to replace retiring Republican Rep. Michael McCaul.
Meanwhile, super PACs tied to President Donald Trump remain one of the biggest forces in politics heading into a midterm election year in which control of the Republican-led House and Senate is at stake.
MAGA, the super PAC that is a key ally of President Trump, ended the year with $304 million in cash. The bulk of the funding, from the second half of 2025, was already disclosed in a filing earlier this month, with the group raising more than $112 million in six months using large checks from people who work with the administration or whose families are facing legal jeopardy.
Although Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run for president again despite not appearing on the ballot in 2026 and repeatedly speaking out, the super PAC’s money could help the president maintain influence within the Republican Party.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has continued to donate millions of dollars to traditional Republican organizations in recent months, even as he appears to be trying to mend his relationship with Trump. Musk, once a close Trump ally and White House adviser, publicly broke with Trump and even threatened to start a third party last year.
In December, Musk handed $5 million checks to both the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, top super PACs aligned with the Senate and House Republican leadership. And Mr. Musk also gave $2.9 million, including in-kind contributions, to his political organization, America PAC, which spent more than $250 million last election cycle, primarily to support Mr. Trump. American PACs ended the year with little left in their bank accounts, but that number means little given the staggering wealth of their major clients.
In the second half of 2025, the Senate Leadership Fund raised approximately $77 million and ended the year with $100 million in savings. The Congressional Leadership Fund raised more than $38 million during that period and ended 2025 with $54.5 million in cash on hand.
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On the Democratic side, the House Majority PAC, the main outside group tasked with helping Democrats win the House majority, raised more than $48 million and ended the year with $46 million in cash on hand.
Senate Majority PAC, a group aligned with Senate Democratic leadership, had not yet submitted its fundraising report by late Saturday night.
The United Democracy Project, a pro-Israel group affiliated with the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC), raised more than $61 million from July to December and has set aside nearly $96 million through 2025, according to its latest campaign finance report. The group participates in primaries from both sides of the aisle, but primarily plays in Democratic races.
The group is already involved in the upcoming special election in New Jersey’s deep-blue 11th Congressional District, attacking former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski.
The United Democracy Project received a huge $30 million check from AIPAC, but its second largest donor was Republican megadonor Paul Singer. Donations from Mr. Singer and other prominent Republicans have become an issue for Democrats because of the group’s deep involvement in the party’s primaries.
Democratic lawmakers also face a major new threat this election cycle amid generational and ideological divisions in the party.
Leaders We Reserve, a group led by activist David Hogg, announced last year that it would target Democrats in deep blue districts who are “drowsy at the wheel” as part of a $20 million effort to support young candidates. The group raised more than $7.8 million in 2025 and nearly $2.3 million in campaign contributions at year’s end.
